History

Panther was devised after a group of programmers got together in an attempt to make up for some of the features they felt Scratch lacked. It is understandable why Scratch would not have many of Panther's features as it is designed to be easily grasped and too many features would make it harder to get the hang of it. Panther is therefore designed for people who have already used Scratch, rather than as a starting point for programmers. The first version was released in April 2010.

Recently, not much of the development and work on new things is going on. It is unknown why this mod is being permanently abandoned,[1] possible reasons are that the developers are spending time on other interests or are on a hiatus.[2][3] The download link on Panther's official site is now broken[4] and a copy owned by powerpoint56 is available.[5]

[!mix ◙ (10):(10) with ◙!] Mixes the two colors to the specified ratio.

[!color of pixel x:( )y:( )!] reports the color of the pixel at the specified grid position (finally making a paint project with color picker possible).

(◙ as string) reports the color as a string.

[![#FFFFFF] as color!] Turns the hexadecimal color value into a color.

[!color named [black]!] reports the color value of the selected color.

CYOB

CYOB stands for "Code your own block" and allows users with more advanced knowledge of Squeak to write their own working blocks into Panther.

How to Use it

Custom blocks are written in a window that can be accessed from the bottom of the variables tab by clicking "make a new block".

In the window that pops up, you can type code to make new blocks. Here are two quick examples to give you an idea how to use it:

The long, one line box at the top contains the block name. Type "record sound" into it for the first example, "report $String$" for the second.

The small square box in the top right contains a single character that defines the block type. "-" is a stack, "r" is a reporter, "b" is a boolean, "c" is a mouth and "g" is a color reporter. For the first block, put -, and put r for the second.

The final large text box is where the code for the block goes. This is normal Squeak code. To make the blocks work, type "self recordSound" in for the first block and type "^ t1" for the second.

If done correctly you should have two new blocks at the bottom of the variables tab. The first opens the sound recorder and the second reports the value inserted into the string argument.

Note:

Panther blocks do not use the same argument notation as the Scratch System Browser. Whenever an insert is defined with a %_ in Scratch, it is $_$ in Panther.

Here is a conversion table for the most commonly used arguments:

%s to $String$

%b to $Boolean$

%n to $Number$

%m to $Sprite$

Other New Features

remaking the %v argument to fit the new variable manipulation features. %v arguments now accept reporter blocks and have the ability to be typed into (used for variables created and deleted in the code)

Having the variable blocks are now available regardless of whether or not a user variable has been created. The "delete a variable" button, however, is shown only when at least one user variable exists.

Providing the same functionality for variables to lists.

A new menu (Mesh) providing mesh functionality

Two new categories: Files and Colors, the former being a small category containing file blocks such as reading/writing files and also URL functions, the latter being a category for blocks that allow advanced pen and coloring controls.

File commands that warn the user about the risk of allowing file writing and giving him/her the option to cancel the operation or set a default (also accessible from the file menu)

The "delete me" block, which only works on sprites that are clones to prevent accidental deletion of a non-clone sprite.

Creating a new costume no longer snaps the costume menu tab back to the top, something that will allow large collections of costumes can be created faster.

Areas with a scrollbar can be dragged with the mouse.

Block graphics quality choices. Low quality for faster rendering, useful for large projects and slow computers, normal is the original scratch block design and high is a high-quality block style that looks very nice.